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The Airbus A300, a significant milestone in aviation history, was the first aircraft produced by Airbus right from its inception. Built between 1971 and 2007, more than 550 units of this model were manufactured, with the A300-600 variant emerging later on. While most A300-600s have been retired and scrapped, Iran remains an exception, operating the last few of these passenger planes globally.
International sanctions on Iran have inadvertently prolonged the operational life of these aircraft. After sanctions were relaxed by the Obama Administration in 2016, Iran sought to modernize its fleet, ordering from manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing. However, the reinstatement of sanctions during the Trump Administration halted many deliveries, forcing Iran to continue using older models, such as the Airbus A300-600.
"According to data from ch-aviation, a total of 122 Airbus A300-600 aircraft were built. Of these, 93 have been written off and/or scrapped. That leaves a total of 29 examples around the world still in inventory. However, these are mostly owned by sanctioned airlines in Iran, and most of them are currently inactive. Indeed, ch-aviation lists only seven examples as currently being in operation."
